On West Pomfret Street, sandwiched between Raudabaugh’s Barber Shop and Pat Craig Studios, is Carlisle Arts and Learning Center – or CALC. CALC is an art education center and gallery that offers both youth and adult programs and “strengthens community through the power of art” (CALC). One of their signature programs is ArtWORKS! – an after-school program for middle schoolers, part of which includes students making a float in the Carlisle Halloween Parade on October 23. When it was first mentioned in one of our staff meetings that we would be collaborating with CALC and ArtWORKS! my interest was piqued – art and science together? What role would ALLARM play? I immediately signed up to find out.
It turns out that CALC’s float theme this year was underwater creatures, and ALLARM would be visiting CALC to teach ArtWORKS! students about Carlisle’s local waterways and the critters that reside within them. Not only that, ALLARMies would also have the opportunity to walk in the parade with them. To prepare for our visit, my fellow Watershed Coordinators and I brushed up our watershed and macroinvertebrate knowledge. Macroinvertebrates, or animals visible to the naked eye with no backbone, were especially important for this visit because of CALC’s float theme. Macroinvertebrates are important indicators of water quality and are a component of stream monitoring at ALLARM.
When we stepped through CALC’s doors we entered a charming gallery space, walked up a flight of stairs, and then found ourselves welcomed by a classroom filled with energetic students. They were eager to learn about macroinvertebrates, and many already had knowledge of some of the most important critters, like water pennies and crayfish. We passed around preserved samples – which they jumped to look at – and answered their many watershed-related questions.
Crosby Wilkin (Class of 2026), a Watershed Coordinator who participated in the class visit, noted “It was so exciting to see how engaged the CALC class was with macros. They were super excited about learning, and everyone wanted to participate. They surprisingly knew a lot about watersheds and macros, I barely had anything to tell them that they hadn’t already heard of.”
Then came the Halloween Parade! I watched from the sidelines as CALC students and my fellow Watershed Coordinators marched proudly down Hanover Street, donning sea creatures like jellyfish and a giant squid. These certainly weren’t macroinvertebrates, but were wonderful nonetheless.
Katelyn Pequeno (Class of 2027) was one of the ALLARMies that walked alongside CALC in the parade. Katelyn remarked on the float items saying, “each detail was thought out to make the aquatic animals as accurate and whimsical as possible.” She then reflected on the event declaring, “The most impactful part of the event was getting to see the excitement the students had to show off their creations and knowledge with the community.”
My experience with CALC was incredibly rewarding and showed me the intersection of art and science – especially ALLARM’s focus on citizen-science: engaging with and supporting the community. If that wasn’t enough, CALC’s float won first place in the large walking group division! Moments like this remind me of the value – and almost magic – of community, the paper mâché giant squid was just an added benefit!
